Forum:Meta-narratives, locality and why the future power will be Asian
We are in a crisis as a people in the United States. We longer respect the right of all people to live, whether it is abortion as state-protected infanticide or states-rights physician-assisted suicide (Oregon law) that makes Dr. Kevorkian into the family doctor! Economically, we are in a melt-down also. No longer can most Americans afford a mortgage payment on their own. Rent is still a possible option, but increasingly more & more 20 something year olds must band together as roommates in order to afford an apartment with electricity, an automobile to get to work in, and (oh yes!) still be able to eat! Militarily, we are fighting a no-win war in Iraq with a military that is tired, depleted of revenue and serving with many missing personnel now. We as a society are floundering! Many would say, "Blame Bush!" or "Down With Dubya." This easy mantra, however, misses many of the systemic problems with our society, problems that transcend simple Party Politic Slogan-mongering. Electing a Democrat will be no different than electing a Republican. The reason why, stated frankly, is that we as a Judeo-Christian People have forsaken our founding Jewish and Christian heritage and have gone chasing after other tiny gods. Some are directly pagan. Others are only pagan in lifestyle trading faithful worship of the One True God for a life of hedonism. Rooting this morass epistemically, we as a united people have lost our 'meta-narrative,' that is our shared communal self-understanding. We have forsaken our Judeo-Christian heritage and to be frank the only things that seem to unite us are football and Budweiser. This is why the future will no longer be in the United States of America. Whether we like it or not, due to state-enforced doctrinal marxism, China is a force to be reckoned with militarily, economically and politically. Similarly, the European Union, that monstrosity of a colonial oppresser, has united its Euros into one unassailable financial tower that the United States can no longer compete with. Europe is the lender. America is the credit-seeker and our credit limit (7 trillion dollars or more as a government!) is about to max out. So, we will now have an evil banking empire known as Europe set against us on one side and an uncomfortable mercantile relationship with marxist Chinese imperialism on the other side. The only 'hedge' that we good, God-fearing Americans have against such world imperialism is the sustaining presence of local communities, local resources (such as friendship networks, business breaks, and advice), and finally local economy that provides low-cost products to locals simply due to shared communal self-identity. So, the future, whether we like it or not, will no longer be American. The future will be Asian, first China in its monstrously HUGE population, its ability to low-ball any other producer (99 cents products galore!) and finally a military that is a force to be aware of. Similarly, although a friend of the United States and someone whom we aid militarily, Japan will continue to send us Nissans, Hondas, Sony Camcorders, and computer memory sticks all with our American dollars being sent to Japan in order to buy such technologically superior products. So, alas, my fellow Americans, we are living in the decline of the American Empire. Do not blame "Dubya" because the problem has been on the horizen for decades. Do not blame Bill & Hilary because they actually helped us prosper as a nation, although at the expense of our common morals (adultery is one such breakdown). But, in spite of such lessened world power, the United States of America can and will march on. On the backs of Poles, Jews, Puerto Ricans, Irish, English and dare I say the Mexican immigrant, the United States of America will survive and flourish, but in a new, humbler manner. For America, For God, For Family, For Military Concerns, Rob J. King--RobJKing 19:54, 9 October 2007 (UTC)